PESTICIDES

The Hon. M. PARNELL (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about pesticides and bees.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M. PARNELL: Bees are essential to our food production system, pollinating human crops worth around $4 billion to $6 billion annually in Australia, including crops such as broad beans, canola and sunflowers but also lucerne and pastures, and obviously many of our fruit trees. The European Union has just introduced a two-year ban on three pesticides thought to affect the learning behaviour of bees. This move is in response to a dramatic drop in bee numbers across various parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East and the US.

These insecticides, known collectively as neonicotinoids, affect the central nervous system of insects. Lab results have shown that bees' ability to learn is reduced by exposure to the pesticides, and that bee colonies suffer as a result. The pesticides to be banned in Europe are still in use in Australia. Writing this week in the online academic journal, The Conversation, Associate Professor Nigel Andrew, an entomologist from the University of New England, said:

Australia should consider banning these pesticides too. We use the same chemicals as the EU and we have the same reliance on bees for pollination. The EU is usually a long way ahead of Australia in terms of pesticide regulation. We don't know what potential these chemicals have to cause major problems. We haven't got the science. But this is a great example of where the precautionary principle should be invoked.

My questions to the minister are:

1. What investigations have been undertaken in South Australia and what, if any, adverse impacts have been identified in relation to the use of neonicotinoids or other pesticides on honey bee numbers and their performance; and have any reports been prepared?

2. Will the minister, either independently or in collaboration with her state and territory colleagues, consider moving towards a similar precautionary ban in South Australia to that introduced in Europe?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:15): The European Union has announced, as the honourable member has pointed out, a ban on the use of three neonicotinoid insecticides, and that just denotes that the mode of action is like nicotine. The three insecticides include imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, and they are all marketed under various trade names around the world, which I hope are easier to pronounce.

The ban will apply to use on all crops, I have been advised, except winter cereals and plants not attractive to bees, such as sugar beet, and that will occur from 1 December 2013. In Australia, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (the APVMA) is our national body which undertakes the risk assessments of the proposed uses of agriculture and veterinary chemicals under Australian conditions—so, it is a federal responsibility—and this is obviously to ensure that when they are used they are used according to approved instructions. The risks to human health, environment and trade are also appropriately managed.

These insecticides are currently approved by the APVMA for use in a wide range of crops, including stone fruit, grapes, a range of leafy vegetables and other ornamentals. Broadacre crops include cotton, sunflower, lentils, cereals, etc. They are also approved for use to control insects on flowers, trees, fruit trees and vegetables and suchlike in home gardens and, depending on the particular use, they can be applied as foliar sprays, soil drenches or seed treatments. So you can see that they are, indeed, used here.

In August 2012, the APVMA announced a review to see if these neonicotinoid insecticides present a greater risk to bee health than other insecticides and whether current data requirements are adequate to address potential effects on bees. The APVMA is now examining the reports from the European Food Safety Authority which led to the ban along with other evidence from scientific literature, so my understanding is that they are undertaking a fairly intensive examination. The APVMA also intends to consult with a wide range of stakeholders prior to releasing a draft report, I have been advised, so I would imagine they would be possibly open to input from stakeholder responses to that. It is something we are watching very closely and monitoring with a high level of caution.